The Blue Waves’ offense fails to deliver behind a solid performance on the mound by John Wendt. The Waves fall to 2-4 on the season.
“The season ain’t over,” said Riverhead head coach Rob Maccone following a 4-1 loss to Centereach on Friday afternoon.
The loss dropped the Blue Waves to 2-4 on the season, losing both series’ after winning the first game.
“Teams in the past have started 2-4 and made the playoffs,” said Maccone. “Teams in the past have started 9-1 and missed the playoffs. So all it has to do is click. If we fix some things, we’ll end up in the playoffs.”
Sophomore John Wendt pitched all seven innings in a solid start, only surrendering three earned runs, two of which scored in the 7th.
The Blue Waves have gotten consistent pitching all season long but the bats remain silent.
Kyle Trypuc’s bomb to left-center field resulted in the sole run scored for Riverhead as he hustled around the bases for an inside-the-park homerun.
Wendt hit 1-for-2 on the day including a dead-center laser beam over the center fielder’s head in the 4th inning for a triple. Wendt was later picked off while leading off of third base. Third base ended up being something of a nightmare for the Blue Waves.
The 4th inning ended with Centereach (4-2) ahead by one run, 2-1.
In the bottom of the 5th inning, Nick Stimpfel led off with a long fly ball to center field that fell outside the outfielder’s reach. He ran through a stop sign from coach Maccone and was thrown out at third base.
In the 6th inning, the Blue Waves again threatened to tie the ballgame, after two consecutive singles by Kenny Simco and Jesse Patriss with no outs. Simco was then thrown out at third after a dropped third strike.
“Nobody cost us the game today,” said Maccone. “It was a bunch of little things. There wasn’t one mistake that made us lose. But we had like seven or eight little mistakes that add up in the end.”
Maccone took extra long in his post-game speech. He really wanted to deliver his message.
“In the real scheme of things, we’re alright,” said Maccone. “We just can’t let another series slip away. If we win the rest of the series’, we’ll be in the playoffs. The talent is there. We can play.”
Centereach’s Ed Miller threw a complete game, only allowing five hits while striking out 11.
Matt Crohan returns to the mound for Riverhead’s next game. The Blue Waves square off against Copiague in an away game Tuesday at 4 p.m. Can Crohan make it three no-hitters in a row?
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